It has been common practice for many years to provide a canopy above an outside door to a building to shield the door and people standing in front of it from rain, snow and sun. One type of canopy is made on site by a carpenter who builds a frame, places a wood or plywood top on the frame and covers it with shingles or other roofing material. Typically, this structure is built in place. Yet another type of canopy is a canvas awning that is hung on a tubular frame attached to the wall of the building above the door. Both types of canopies require some skill in assembling and mounting the canopy. Even a skilled carpenter or craftsman may take several hours to build and install these prior art canopies. For the average homeowner it may be a one or two day project.
Exterior doors typically are 32 inches, 36 inches or 42 inches wide. A canopy which extends over such a door must be at least 2 inches and preferably 4 to 6 inches wider than the width of the door. In addition the canopy typically should extend out at least 36 inches from the door. Therefore, a typical canopy would be at least 3 feet by 3 feet and may have a height of anywhere from 8 to 36 inches. However, much longer structures which cover a porch having a length and width of several feet could be considered a canopy.
Products sold in retail home centers and building supply stores are typically shipped from the manufacturer on pallets. Both the manufacturer and the retailer prefer that several items be arranged on a single pallet to save space both in the store and during shipping.
Hupp in U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,861 discloses a one piece molded awning which fits around a window frame. The awning is held in place by nailing three edges of the awning to the top, right side and left side of the window frame. Because of its configuration the one piece molded awning disclosed by Hupp is not suitable for attachment above an exterior door. It can only be attached to a window frame. Furthermore, the one piece awning has a shape such that it is not possible to nest several awnings one on top of one another on a pallet for shipping and storage. For shipment, each must be individually boxed to protect from damage.
Thompson et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,599 disclose a canopy for attachment above an exterior door. This canopy has multiple pieces which must be assembled on a frame and is not plastic. Other multi piece canopies are disclosed by Bertheaume et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,566. This canopy is intended to be hung on a single pole.
There is a need for a molded plastic canopy which is sufficiently light in weight that the canopy could be easily installed above an exterior door. The canopy should be such that multiple canopies could be nested and stacked on a pallet for shipment and display at a retail location.